It's been nearly 20 summers since outfielder Frank Wren left West Palm Beach's Municipal Stadium following a Florida State League game, climbed into his car and merged onto Interstate 95. Traveling light, Wren carried the career goal of moving himself up the Montreal Expos' minor-league food chain and onto the major-league roster, a long shot for someone projected as an "organizational player" when signed to a negligible contract out of junior college.Barely...

The Orioles will officially complete their coaching staff early this week by announcing the hire of Braves special assistant Dom Chiti as the club's new bullpen coach. With the hiring of Chiti and new pitching coach Dave Wallace, who was Braves minor league pitching coordinator the past four seasons, the Orioles have to be pleased how their coaching search panned out. They signed two well-respected, experienced coaches. Braves general manager Frank Wren, who within two weeks lost two of his most trusted assistants, is probably less pleased.

Two days after the Orioles had played out their second straight losing season, six months of organizational rancor and intrigue reached a climax among first-year general manager Frank Wren, chief operating officer Joe Foss and Orioles general counsel Russell Smouse. A meeting Tuesday in a B&O warehouse third-floor conference room aired issues involving the team's revered third baseman, organizational control, Wren's leadership and his ability to deal with majority owner Peter Angelos.Finally, Wren left Camden Yards that afternoon knowing that he would soon be the Orioles' former general manager.

WHILE THE Orioles are still involved in a search for a general manager, they might look for a new image in Major League Baseball, as well as the community. The Orioles need a cultural change. If they don't get one, they'll be close to Cincinnati Bengals status soon. The Orioles have had five straight losing seasons, and Baltimore is no longer an attractive place for top-notch free agents. Owner Peter Angelos' meddlesome reputation hangs over this club like a dark cloud. In Cincinnati, Bengals fans have asked owner Mike Brown to fire himself.

Quitter Newt keeps the faith with House Republican colleagues he had misled, while breaking it with constituents who re-elected him.Jesse Ventura may yet prove to be a clown governor, but he's already a better talking head than any in Washington.The king has no pants: It turns out that Bawlamerns don't need Larry and Hizzoner to organize them to vote.PBFrank Wren got the Orioles job because he already was a bird.,Cheer up. Parris is back.Pub Date: 11/11/98

Peter's Diner -- UP -- Majority owner Peter Angelos receives high marks for customer service after inviting disgruntled bleacherites into his luxury box for dinner. But if everyone who has been flipped off by Albert Belle deserves free eats, Angelos had better open a fourth-floor cafeteria.The Untouchables -- UP -- Cal Ripken, B. J. Surhoff, Charles Johnson, Jason Johnson, Mike Mussina and Sidney Ponson are not to be included in trade discussions. Belle, Brady Anderson and Scott Erickson, all of whom enjoy at least partial no-trade status within their contracts, are available for offers.

Orioles right fielder Albert Belle broke three months of media silence yesterday by saying that some of his teammates "quit" on former manager Ray Miller. Belle also commended ousted general manager Frank Wren for not enforcing a "double standard" toward third baseman Cal Ripken that ostensibly contributed to Wren's firing last Wednesday.Appearing on "Time Out with John Thompson" on Washington's WTEM-AM SportsTalk 980, Belle told the former Georgetown coach that the Orioles should hire bench coach Eddie Murray as Miller's successor and Toronto Blue Jays assistant GM Dave Stewart, New York Yankees special assistant Reggie Jackson or broadcaster Dave Winfield as their next general manager.

Yesterday's hiring of Frank Wren as Orioles general manager came as little surprise to many within the organization. However, how Wren intends to fortify a team that dramatically underachieved last season for various reasons remains a point of concern to those fearful of a razed clubhouse."

The Angelos WayThe once-proud Oriole Way has given way to the Angelos Way. In other words, it's Peter Angelos' way or no way, and you're out the door.The Orioles have become the laughingstock of baseball. To suggest that King Angelos is just as bad as George Steinbrenner is wrong. King Angelos is worse. At least Steinbrenner changed his ways somewhat and let baseball people do their jobs, and now he has won the World Series two of the past three years and is going for another one.I firmly believe that as long as Angelos owns the club, the Orioles will never win a World Series.

The perpetual volatility of the Orioles' front office situation could create a problem for the search committee that will interview candidates to replace fired general manager Frank Wren.The line of quality applicants may not be very long.This will be the third time in less than five years that owner Peter Angelos has changed general managers. It should be obvious by now that it is not a typical general manager job and it certainly is not a tenured position."I'm not really sure what the job is that they're trying to fill," said Boston Red Sox assistant general manager Mike Port, who interviewed for the Orioles' job four years ago and currently is a candidate for the GM opening in Seattle.

THERE ARE ASPECTS of the Orioles' dismantling worthy of criticism. They didn't get enough for Charles Johnson, one of the game's top catchers. Too many of the 14 players they received for their six traded veterans are mediocre, perhaps not even major-leaguers. They hurt their chances of retaining Mike Mussina, who will now have to go elsewhere to play for a winner next season. Maybe they "went too far," as Mussina suggested. But having said all that, disassembling the disappointing club was still the right thing to do. In fact, it was the only thing to do. No, it wasn't a perfect house-cleaning, but the basic, underlying concept of taking apart the failing club and starting over was absolutely valid.

Frank Wren -- UP -- Ousted general manager hit the Powerball on Monday and won $400,000. (Bud Selig calls it binding arbitration.) Wren collected when Peter Angelos' number was pulled. The rotation -- DOWN -- The wheels came off in Toronto. Johnson's on "pause," Mussina's admittedly confused and Erickson's made two starts off rehab. Before Friday, the rotation had one win in the last 14 games, and that one required 138 pitches from Mussina on April 29. `Big number' -- DOWN -- Cal Ripken tied Hank Aaron's career record for double plays on Tuesday.

VIERA, Fla. -- Though the Orioles seem confident that promising Sidney Ponson and Jason Johnson will be able to move up in the rotation to soften the temporary loss of veteran pitcher Scott Erickson, club officials appear to be intensifying the search for another starting pitcher. The focus of that search is the Colorado Rockies, a team that spent the winter stockpiling pitching talent. Orioles vice president of baseball operations Syd Thrift confirmed yesterday that he has had recent conversations with Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd and has dispatched two scouts to shadow the club in Arizona.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Orioles won an arbitration case but may have lost a catcher yesterday. A three-man panel ruled in the team's favor by assigning Charles Johnson a $4.6 million salary rather than his $5.1 million request for this season. Reached last night at his Plantation, Fla., home, Johnson restated that the ordeal tells him the 2000 season will be his last with the club. "My feelings really haven't changed: Winning or losing wasn't as meaningful as me having to go to arbitration in the first place.

The Orioles of owner Peter Angelos have no problem hiring quality candidates for their important baseball jobs such as manager and general manager. Mike Hargrove's arrival is just the latest example of that. But they do have a major problem keeping those qualified hires around, as the departures of Johnny Oates, Pat Gillick, Kevin Malone, Davey Johnson and Frank Wren -- among others -- vividly illustrate. In other words, as lucky as the Orioles were to land a manager as qualified as Hargrove at a time when their credibility in the industry is at a low ebb, now comes the hard part.

The Angelos WayThe once-proud Oriole Way has given way to the Angelos Way. In other words, it's Peter Angelos' way or no way, and you're out the door.The Orioles have become the laughingstock of baseball. To suggest that King Angelos is just as bad as George Steinbrenner is wrong. King Angelos is worse. At least Steinbrenner changed his ways somewhat and let baseball people do their jobs, and now he has won the World Series two of the past three years and is going for another one.I firmly believe that as long as Angelos owns the club, the Orioles will never win a World Series.

The Orioles made official yesterday that Ray Miller's tenure as manager is done. Unsaid is whether the Orioles will pursue a "name" manager able to quench the club's marketing thirst as well as its desire for a credible clubhouse presence.Given the absence of a general manager, the selection process that Frank Wren hoped to finalize before the end of the World Series apparently will be left to majority owner Peter Angelos and a team composed of organizational executives. One club insider suggested that the flux might lead to the promotion of an in-house candidate such as first base coach Marv Foley, third base coach Sam Perlozzo or bench coach Eddie Murray.

Calling further examination of the issue "pointless," Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken said yesterday he was "uncomfortable" being placed in the middle of the team's explanation for last week's dismissal of general manager Frank Wren. Ripken addressed "a situation I feel I don't belong in" for the first time during an appearance at the ESPN Zone to announce his participation in the ownership group of the Baltimore BayRunners professional basketball team. The issue has become so central to the explanation for Wren's firing that it relegated Ripken's recovery from recent back surgery to a secondary discussion.

Orioles right fielder Albert Belle broke three months of media silence yesterday by saying that some of his teammates "quit" on former manager Ray Miller. Belle also commended ousted general manager Frank Wren for not enforcing a "double standard" toward third baseman Cal Ripken that ostensibly contributed to Wren's firing last Wednesday.Appearing on "Time Out with John Thompson" on Washington's WTEM-AM SportsTalk 980, Belle told the former Georgetown coach that the Orioles should hire bench coach Eddie Murray as Miller's successor and Toronto Blue Jays assistant GM Dave Stewart, New York Yankees special assistant Reggie Jackson or broadcaster Dave Winfield as their next general manager.